Despite the Birmingham City Council's denial of their request for a $300,000 loan, the team at Ascension Event Management Group will continue with plans to present the music festival, Aug. 14-16 in Linn Park.

"We were of course disappointed," organizer Lawrence Walker said in a prepared statement. "Our only mission was to preserve the festival and provide a quality event."

Walker's company asked the council for a 30-day loan earlier this week, saying a major financial backer had pulled out and the festival needed money to pay its acts.

The council nixed the request on Thursday, pointing to the recent demise of Birmingham's City Stages festival, which went bankrupt after receiving $550,000 from the city this year. Giving $300,000 to a similar event seemed too risky, council members said.

Council President Carole Smitherman gave Walker the bad news, calling the Heritage Festival's request "DOA."

Today's statement, however, said community support would see the festival through. "The festival is not dead ... and the show will go on," Walker said.